State Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, on Tuesday announced his legislation to create additional transparency and accountability within the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency cleared a major hurdle, passing out of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee with bipartisan support.

Senate Bill 593 would require each California member of the TRPA Governing Board to comply with the requirements of the Political Reform Act, and to file with the Fair Political Practices Commission a statement of economic interests.

“Currently, the California members of the TRPA can make decisions in which they have a conflict of interest and the public has no way of knowing,” Gaines said in a statement. “SB593 would better enable the public to hold these members accountable and creates an important layer of transparency and oversight for this governing board.”